Egypt, Norway mark Ibsen Year with drama show before pyramids

Egyptian and Norwegian artists on Thursday jointly presented a most famous play of Norwegian renowned playwright Henrik Ibsen to mark the 100-year commemoration of the master's death.

The drama, Peer Gynt, was staged on Thursday evening before the landmark Sphinx and the Giza Pyramids in western Cairo with the attendance of some 1,000 audience.

Thursday's drama showing was a prelude to a series of showings in Egypt in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Egypt and Norway.

Egypt's First Lady Suzanne Mubarak and Queen Sonia of Norway, who arrived here on Wednesday for a four-day visit, are expected to attend the other show in Cairo on Friday evening.

The showings would also be staged in Egypt's seaport city of Alexandria.

Chairman of the Norwegian National Ibsen Committee Lars Roar Langslet said that the two performances were the largest cultural cooperation between Egypt and Norway.

The performances also had "its deepest meaning as a road map to brotherhood and peace between peoples," said Langslet.

The Egyptian celebrations of Ibsen are the main festivity of the world celebrations held in some 78 countries, according to Norwegian ambassador to Egypt.

Ibsen, 1828-1906, influenced the development of modern drama with his realistic masterpieces. His major works include Peer Gynt (1867), A Doll's House (1879) and Ghosts (1881).

Source: Xinhua